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Friday, November 25, 2011

I created and cooked a special recipe for yesterday's Thanksgiving feast. It's called "Not a damn thing". It didn't have much taste but it was low on calories!

Nah, the kitchens of Nibble Me This were shut down as we headed over the mountains to Franklin, NC to spend the day with my side of the family. My mom cooked our traditional Thanksgiving feast which somehow manages every year to outstrip "nostalgia inflation" (where things tasted better in your memory) and be as fantastic as ever.

Late in the afternoon, I decided to walk off the carbs and headed down the mountain road...

Yes, the actual road, not stock photo.

beyond the cow pastures....

The cabin property is on the extreme right of this picture.

to the sheep farm....

Holy crap, my mom wasn't kidding, there IS a red sheep in the herd.

and took this picture of the barn...

I'm a sucker for old barns.

The red brick silo in the picture was the inspiration for today's recipe and my 500th post - Silo Brick Grilled Cornish Hens.

Mix the brine ingredients thoroughly together and brine the hens for 4 hours.

Mix the compound ingredients together with a fork, refrigerate, and take off refrigeration 1 hour before using.

Heat oil in a small sauce pan to 350f.

Fry sage leaves about 1 minute and remove.

Fry garlic cloves until done, about 2-3 minutes, and remove.

Let oil cool. Place sage, garlic, pepper and oil in a blender or food processor and blend together.

Preheat your grill and two foil wrapped bricks to 400f. On the Big Green Egg, I used a raised grid set up where the meat is 8" from the coals. If your grill can't adjust the height from the coals, drop the temp to about 350f and carefully monitor the internal temps.

Spatchcock or butterfly the hens by cutting out the backbone with kitchen/poultry sheers.

Work your finger under the skin and spread the softened compound butter over the breast, thighs, and legs.

Place birds bone side down, weigh down with bricks and cook 6 minutes.

Rotate birds 90 degrees and weigh down again for another 6 minutes.

Remove birds from grill (to prevent flare ups) and drizzle some of the sage oil over the skin side. Flip and drizzle sage oil over the back. Return to grill skin side down, top with bricks, and cook for 3 minutes.

Rotate 90 degrees and cook another 3 minutes.

Temp check thighs (175f) and breasts (160). If not done, slip bone side down and finish to those temps (shouldn't be another few minutes).

Let rest 10 minutes before serving

With the weather getting cold, sage is one of the last herbs surviving in our garden.

You won't use all the oil, save the rest for other dishes.

If you can't get "all natural", reduce the salt content of the brine to 1/4 cup.

Getting the butter/herbs under the skin seasons the meat better.

A glimpse into how I come up with recipes. I started with the word Franklin and brainstormed.

The brick helps flatten the birds for more even cooking.

Finishing bone side down to get the desired final internal temps.

The wild rice was a certain Uncle's box mix with frozen peas and crisped bacon added.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, spent time with family and arrived home safely!

I'm jealous. A walk would always beat a Lion's game. Next year I guess. The birds look great and I love the idea of the brick to even out the heat. You lost me on the diagram but I get everything else. The taste was great I'm sure.

Chris- That part of the country is simply one of the most beautiful places around. I love the name of your recipes, very clever. I have some of those cornish hens in my freezer and this recipe has really inspired me. They are picture perfect....gorgeous, gorgeous! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

oh my gosh, what a gorgeous walk! my friend and i took a walk on thanksgiving too, but it wasn't half as beautiful. i love the cornish hens, i tend to think food is always a bit more fun in smaller sizes. i'm glad you had a nice thanksgiving!

Loved this post! Love your photos... especially the winding road and your barn shot!! It's crazy to see inside that brain of yours to see how you come up with your creative processes. Wow, a barn brought us this delicious cornish hen recipe. I love cornish hens....

Or as I thought my country-accented mama was always calling them... "corn-a-cheans"

wonderful information, I had come to know about your blog from my friend nandu , hyderabad,i have read atleast 7 posts of yours by now, and let me tell you, your website gives the best and the most interesting information. This is just the kind of information that i had been looking for, i'm already your rss reader now and i would regularly watch out for the new posts, once again hats off to you! Thanks a ton once again, Regards, cornish hen recipe